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The first few days after you sign up for Actors Access, don’t do this. Pay attention to all the messages on the site. At first. Then, once they get old, add this CSS to your browser. You are welcome.

div.alert[id=message] {
display: none;
}

Yesterday I released my IMDb Pro Safari Extension. Due to wee bugs, I updated it today to version 0.2 and then 0.3.

(Version and updating are not as automated as they should be. Maybe that will happen in the next version? And then maybe I’ll get it published in the Gallery?)

This Extension does one simple thing: it loads the IMDb Pro version of all IMDb pages. It’s just a beta version, but it’s simple and it’s free. Let me know if you like it, and what additional features you’d like to see.

Please note: this is no good to somebody who doesn’t have an IMDb Pro account!

A few months ago I offered a bookmarklet that makes life easier for users with IMDb Pro subscriptions. In early September, I offered an update. Today, I offer a 3rd update to overcome problems the bookmarklet had with TV shows and TV episodes.

This bookmarklet, as before, does two things: 1. It will take you to a specific IMDb Pro page if you click on it when you’re not on IMDb. The default is in the box below; if you prefer to visit a specific IMDb page instead, like yours, enter it below first. 2. If you’re looking at a regular IMDb page when you click on this bookmarklet, you’ll be whisked to the IMDb Pro version of that page.

So, enter your favorite “home” URL above, then drag this link to your bookmarks bar, and you’re good to go: [IMDb Pro].

I am primarily a Safari user, but this bookmarklet appears to work in Chrome, too. Firefox is being persnickety, however, and I’m working on getting a version that works in that browser.

When you are on a Facebook page that links to an external site, clicking on the link will take you to an intermediate Facebook page that starts with http://www.facebook.com/l.php before it takes you to the link you want to access. The JavaScript code Facebook uses reveals why they do this. The code says “UntrustedLink” and some other junk.

But if you trust the links, and if you want to bypass that intermediate business on any one Facebook page, just click this bookmarklet first and you will be good to go: [Trust].

A few months ago I offered a bookmarklet that makes life easier for Safari users with IMDb Pro subscriptions. Today, an update. It works now in mobile Safari on the iPhone.

This bookmarklet by default will take you to IMDb Pro’s home page if you click on it when you’re not on IMDb. If you prefer instead to visit a specific IMDb page, like yours, enter it in the box below first. Whether you enter a URL below or not, if you’re looking at a regular IMDb page when you click on this bookmarklet, you’ll be whisked to the Pro version of that page.

So, enter your favorite “home” URL above, then drag this link to your bookmarks bar, and you’re good to go: [IMDb Pro].

Attention, actors. Previously, I showed how to make IMDb Pro better if you use Safari on an Apple computer. Today, let’s add one more line to overcome.css to improve Actors Access.

The first time you use Actors Access, it’s good to see the message at the top of each breakdown that begins with, “SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS ALWAYS SUBMIT ASAP!!! Submitting within the first day….” But that large message gets old fast! That message just gets in the way after a while. Here’s some CSS you can use to tell Safari to hide the message:

div.alert[id=message] {
display: none;
}

I’ve modified my online copy of overcome.css to include this plus the previous IMDb Pro fix. Download and enjoy! (Need help on this? Just leave a comment.)

Now, if anybody can figure out how to do this on Safari iPhone, too, please let me know!

Recently, IMDb Pro did a small redesign. Quick review: Looks better in browser, prints horribly.

I offer herein a quick fix to the printing problem, at least in Safari / Mac OS X. (Other browsers should have similar solutions for the savvy web user.)

Create a file named something.css and store it on your hard drive wherever you want. I call mine “overcome.css” and put in a my Documents folder. Edit this file with a plain-text editor. Do not use Word. Put this text, this CSS code, into that file, then save it and close it:

@media print {
#nav-wrapper { display: none; }
}

(Alternate solution if plain-text editing is beyond your computer routine: download overcome.css.)

Now in Safari, go to Safari > Preferences > Advanced. Where it says Style Sheet, select the file you just created or downloaded. That’s it! See the difference below, where I offer a side-by-side comparison of the first printed page of my IMDb Pro page. Quick review: Better. Way better. IMDb should hire me.

UPDATE: It turns out that Safari users will benefit from one other CSS change, due to poor cross-browser issues with the new IMDb Pro look. Add this to overcome.css in order to avoid the weird thing that happens where the page shifts down 21 pixels just as it finishes rendering. I’ve altered the download file accordingly.

#nav-wrapper #navbar { margin: 0 !important; }

Again, IMDb should hire me.

(Please leave a comment if you find it useful, or if you find an error.)

Over the last 3 days, I’ve had a lot of replacement parts to my black MacBook. Thanks to AppleCare and my 2 external backups, it’s been pretty painless, if a little time consuming. I got new RAM, and an unexpected boost from 2GB to 3GB. Then I needed a new hard drive, too, and an unexpected boost from Mac OS X 10.5 to 10.6 (Snow Leopard).

Embracing change, I switched the DNS servers on our Time Capsule settings from Time Warner Cable’s default values to the settings over at OpenDNS. The internets have gotten peppier with every one of the above changes. Upgrading your RAM or your OS will probably cost most of you money, but you can all upgrade to OpenDNS for free … and I highly recommend you give it a shot!

Just be sure to write down your current settings so you can reverse them if it doesn’t make things peppier for you. (Sidebar: If you say it in French, a peppier might be the guy that walks around fancy restaurants to grind some pepper on your soupe or salade.)

I’ve created a bookmarklet to switch from IMDb to IMDb Pro more easily. If you subscribe to IMDb Pro, do this.

Drag this link [Pro] to your bookmark bar. This link will now switch you to the IMDb Pro version of any IMDb page, or it will take you to the IMDb Pro home page if you click on it when not on regular IMDb.

Now, you may be saying that this is useless because every regular IMDb page has a link to its IMDb Pro version. Yes, but with this bookmarklet, you can click on one reliable place, a place that doesn’t scroll, a place whose horizontal location is not dependent on the length of an actor’s or agency’s name, and a place not blocked by very invasive ads that IMDb sometimes puts up! It was the invasive Flash ads for Alice in Wonderland that drove me to develop this. If you use Safari, you can also use a keyboard shortcut to the first 10 bookmarks in your bookmark bar. Speedy!

I find this handy. Leave a comment if you find it handy, too!

P.S. If you’re interested in the nuts and bolts of this bookmarklet, here is its Javascript code:

h=location.href;
w=h.indexOf("http://www.imdb.com");
p=h.indexOf("http://pro.imdb.com");
if(w==0){window.location=h.replace("www","pro")}
else if(p==-1){window.location="http://pro.imdb.com/"};